A Beautiful Bridge

As I write this, I am on my final journey home after 15 months of travel across Europe and North America. I was born a wanderer—be it out in the world or inside my head—and when my military sister found out she was being stationed in Italy the year before last, I knew I had to seize this opportunity to live my nomadic dream.

When I reflect back on this adventure, I am overwhelmed with gratitude.

During this time, I wandered all over Europe (and hopped over to Morocco), both by myself and with family and friends; I reconnected with a friend from junior high, remembering at our reunion why we’d become friends so many years ago; I spent significant time with my grandfather, which included a three-week road trip across the United States to all of the places he’s lived or has history; I helped a close friend prepare for an intimate art show in her apartment; I spent a couple months at home with my mother and focused on my creative intentions and launching this blog; I traveled to New England, which included visiting a close friend who was pregnant with her first child, and helping yet another close friend with final preparations for her wedding; I camped on the Washington Coast with family and reveled in having zero connection to the digital realm; I explored British Columbia with a Canadian friend I met while traveling in Hawaii a couple years prior; I spent a couple weeks with my other sister (who is in graduate school in Indiana) and brother-in-law, and together we attended the annual Lotus World Music Festival that takes place in the little college town.

Now that this chapter of my life has come to a close, I look forward to letting all of the insights, curiosities, and inspirations absorbed along the way fully sink into my being and manifest through my creative expressions. A couple weeks ago, I wrote about my primary and focused intention for 2018, which is to invest in my creative vision. While I have been feeling optimistic for the new year—particularly in the way of establishing consistency in my creative practice—there is always a bit of hesitation and insecurity lurking.

But the universe has a way of delivering what we need, and in this case it was a lovely dinner with an incredible young woman I met in my hostel in Frankfurt, Germany, where I spent a couple days before my homebound flight. In true European fashion, we dined for nearly three hours, beginning with a toast to an intentional life in the new year, and then filling the space between us with empathetic, passionate, and empowering conversation. As I shared my creative dreams and past work with her, she encouraged me with much needed warmth and sincerity as I prepare for a more deliberately creative year. Dining with her was like dining with my inner wisdom, and it was a beautiful bridge between my recent adventures and the year to come.

As much as I have loved being away—and as much as I will always be a wanderer—these travels have also reminded me of the virtues of being home. This was the first time I had traveled abroad, and as magical as the rest of the world is, the United States feels magical to me in a way it never has before.

I know I’m late on this, but I’m so glad all your travels went well! You have been all over and it inspires me to travel more myself. Not just to travel, but to take it in and let your experiences and the people you meet change you. It sounds like gratitude and appreciation were products of all of this, and these are excellent traits to foster.
Can’t wait to see what you create from all of these experiences!

Your enthusiasm for exploring new places is contagious, and I know you are surely inspiring others to travel more as well. While there is a beauty to traveling both solo and with others, I particularly enjoy the space for reflection and creativity that comes with wandering on my own. Though, our haiku writing and blind contour line drawings of each other was a hoot!